The Tribal Way

Exciting Times...

These are exciting times at techTribe.  We shipped our second major release last week, and the feedback from the users has been awesome.  It wasn't a huge surprise, since we've been taking feedback from users daily, and incorporating them into the product cycles, but nevertheless, it's always good to hear positive things about our efforts.  We also heard some feedback about things members would like to see changed - and we're working on them as we speak - hopefully release this weekend :).

I've also been spending a little time on the upcoming book - How Innovators Connect.  I recently spoke to Joe Kraus (founder of Excite, JotSpot/Google) who is an incredible and humble entrepreneur, and Ram Shriram (Seed Funded Google).  Both were just remarkable learning experiences.  In the conversations, we spoke about how life at a startup is so different and how as Entrepreneurs, we are the biggest optimists out there. 

In the life of a entrepreneur at a startup, there are always exciting times when we feel like we're going great guns, and there are times when it feels like the mistakes we've made are going to be a huge issue.  Its been my experience that there's always lessons on both ends of the spectrum.  I've learnt that it doesn't make sense to take either to heart, and equanimity is the only way to be. 

At techTribe, there's been several things we've done right, and a few we could've done differently.  It's interesting to be able to see the mistakes we've made in the last few weeks - but very critical that we acknowledge them.  It's important for me to not come down too hard on ourselves on mistakes, as long as we take corrective action.  The ratio of good decisions to bad ones has been very favorable, and that's all that matters.   For me, the ability to make a decision based on information available, rather than  swinging in a  pendulum cycle is a lot more important.

Talking to Joe Kraus, I learnt that we were about to make a mistake on a business model - which probably saved techTribe 3 months - not development time, but revenue time.  That's the other part of entrepreneurship - the need to network and LEARN - every single day.  Every person I talk to, every situation we face, every place we're in - there's something there for us to learn - all we need is the ability to listen--to the whispers of the universe around us.

It's mid December, and I'm off to India again for a couple of weeks - to stay connected with the techTribe community.  People seem surprised at how I manage to be in India every other week and not get tired of it - to them I only have one thing to say - YOU HAVE TO EXPERIENCE INDIA AT THIS MOMENT - the passion, the desire to do something, the hustle and bustle of young professional life - it's addictive.  I'm rarely tired in India, even after long days made up of 14 hours of meetings, and 4 hours of phone calls to the US.

These are exciting times. 

Blocking Social Networks

I just read an article in India's Hindustan Times, a leading newspaper that spoke of Indian companies blocking access to Social Networking sites like mySpace and Orkut from work.   I must say i'm not surprised.

Social Networking sites are being viewed as a waste of productive time by companies.  It is not a surprise in a services centric market where productivity of employees is measured in hours worked, and a few hours spent a day on Orkut or mySpace could add up.  While there is not tangible proof of this vs. browsing for news, etc., I can understand why companies would react this way.

TechTribe believes that professional networking for innovation can be a huge positive for companies, where the employees network with others for advancement in their work lives.  One of the reasons techTribe focuses on the being India’s innovation platform is so employees can leverage a concept they’re used to – to connect with others so they could be more productive.  It makes sense for employees to leverage the collective experience of their trust networks in Tribes, where Tribe members could be colleagues across physical and client boundaries.

In addition, leveraging techTribe for mentorship and innovation helps bring newer employees up to speed faster, which is the real need for software and services companies in India.  India has 500,000 to 800,000 employees being hired each year, and a majority of them come from educational institutions and there is a gap between the needs of corporate life and what the student is trained in.  Companies like Zensar Technologies is leveraging this model to mentor college students before they graduate.

Like email, chat, and web browsing which were concepts for personal use before seeing widespread adoption in corporations, social networking too has a place in software and services companies – may not be just in the casual sense it is being used by most people today.  More will be revealed as companies like techTribe deliver on applications for social networking beyond the pure social usage.

I realize this may be a sensitive topic to many Indian professionals and students alike, and i'd love to hear people's thoughts.

What it Takes to be an Entrepreneur

I was in India last week for the annual TiEcon Delhi 2006.  An amazing event for innovators and entrepreneurs.  TiE stands for The Indus Entrepreneurs, a non profit organizations that connects entrepreneurs worldwide for Mentorship, Networking, and plain old discussions.  The conference was a huge success, with over 600 people attending, and the industry who’s who among the speakers, sharing their experience with budding entrepreneurs.

The message at TiEcon was loud and clear, and could be distilled into the following points – at least my takeaway.

1.    Ideas are a plenty – risk takers a few -  There were hundreds of people with ideas.  But, far fewer who believed in their own ideas to the point of taking a risk.  One clear message from the panels of successful entrepreneurs and investors was that unless you’re willing to risk something for your idea, no one else will.  A risk could be bootstrapping it for a few months until one had a prototype, quitting their jobs to pursue it full time, done a prototype on the side by working nights – there had to be passion and risk.
2.    Believe in one’s own idea -   I met several people who had 3 different ideas they were pursuing, and if I didn’t like one during a mentoring session, they had a backup one.  As an entrepreneur myself, that turned me off to no extent.  If one didn’t believe in their idea enough to take the criticism and learn from it or defend it, whew!!!!
3.    The importance of a team – One message that every venture capitalist delivered was they funded a team.  And what I found to be the best advice was – If you can’t convince people to join your team to back your idea, what makes you think you can convince people to invest?  I’ve been a big believer in getting partners/co-founders who believe in the concept to bet on it with their time and money, and take the risk.  Without that, techTribe wouldn’t have taken off on day 1.
4.    Stay the course, but be flexible – It’s important to have passion in your idea, and to have a team that believes in it, because the rest of the world won’t.  They’ll doubt it, poke holes in it, call you crazy, but this is where the team counts – they’ll have to endure it together and not lose faith.  BUT, at the same time, there’s a lot to learn from the early feedback, and the resounding message was – not one person ended up where they started – all ventures morphed over time, which is critical to success. 
5.    Entrepreneurship for money seldom works – While all entrepreneurs who are successful create wealth, most don’t start out with it as a goal.  They realize that if they find a problem that’s big enough to solve, and focus on solving it well before other people do, they see success.  YouTube didn’t dream of $1.65B when founding it, Google didn’t dream of $100Bn+, etc; they all started because they had a passion to create something.  The money followed. 

Overall, an amazing 3 days.  The folks I mentored, I had the following advice for.  If you’re a software startup venturing out, do the following math.  If you have 4 people who are co-founding this venture, the real cost of bootstrapping it in India is nothing.  One can live with the parents, and food and shelter isn’t an issue.  One doesn’t really need salaries beyond a cell phone bill.  The only expense is capital – for computers and a server – which is about Rs. 5 lakhs max, which can be drawn on a credit card.  So, one can do 6 months and build a prototype and show something.  If you can’t take that risk, don’t try and be an entrepreneur.  Second, do the back of the cocktail napkin math on your value – if you believe your startup should be worth let’s say $4 million at the end of year 1, that’s $20,000 per weekday day in value created.  Spending 3 months chasing money to start it ends up costing you $1 million in value – are you willing to give that up for the $10,000 you need to bootstrap it.  I just don’t get it.  Sweat equity counts for more than one can imagine, and demonstrates confidence – and that’s what gets funded.

I realize there are exceptions, and I realize not everyone can afford to bootstrap like I outline above.  But then, in my humble opinion, those should work for a company for a few years after college before venturing out on their own – not a bad proposition. 

The best quote I heard was when I heard a recently graduating student ask – “I’m being courted by Infosys, Wipro, and others, but I don’t want to be one of the 25,000 people that do the same thing; what’s your advice?”.  To which one of the founders of HCL responded – “Whether you’re one that is mixed in the 25,000 or stands out; whether all you do is code like everyone else – IS ALL UP TO YOU. Don’t expect the company to make you stand out – you have a responsibility to do that in a crowd.”  I loved it. 

I believe that it’s upon each of us to create our identity by our actions, and expecting that the world owes us a unique identity is just a recipe for ultimate disaster ☺.

Why Start a Company

I recently read a blog post by Amit Agarwal (Digial Inspiration), which mentioned that Google had opened up Orkut so anyone could join.  It's interesting to me how all social networking sites are trying to one up each other.  Orkut seems to have a following in India, but there's been a flurry of activity with new sites popping up, that are bound to challenge it's position with localized marketing.

It brought me back to thinking about why we started techTribe.  techTribe isn't a social networking platform only, but one does see similarities. 

So I started to go down memory lane, and look at old notes on why we started in the first place.  Here's a note from months and months ago - not sure how long that means in Internet time nowadays :).

techTribe

Connect with Smart People
Showcase what You Have Done
Get Recognized for It

Achieve More with People You Meet

why techTribe
techTribe was formed because as professionals in the technology field, the founders felt that there was more to their identities than the company they worked for.  They were tired of introductions that centered around “Hi, I’m Rohit, and I work for Company X”. 

We’ve all felt that way.  There’s more to our identity.  There’s the company we work for, but there’s also what we’ve accomplished in life.  We rarely get a chance to talk about what we’ve done. 

We’ve created software. 
We’ve implemented solutions. 
We’ve designed products. 
We’ve advised companies.

We’ve solved problems in the banking and insurance sectors. 
We’ve consulted for the healthcare industry. 

We’ve done so for large companies. 
We’ve been part of smaller startups. 

We’ve trained people. 
We’ve received training and education.

We’ve mentored people.  We’ve watched them grow.
We’re passionate about a cause outside of work.

and WE CONTINUE TO DO SO.

techTribe is a platform for professionals and students in our industry to showcase what they’ve done, what they continue to do, and be recognized for it.  It’s a place where people can meet others who share accomplishments, goals, or interests, and collaborate in “Tribes”.  On techTribe, “meeting of the minds” fosters innovation. 

why Technology Professionals
The technology professional is an intellectual.  What excites us is the feeling of creating something.  What keeps us going is the thrill in solving problems.  We thrive on doing things others didn’t think could be done.  That’s part of our identity.

The founders of techTribe looked around and there was no place where technology professionals could truly connect with others, showcase their creativity, and get recognized for it.  They found open source communities for showcasing and sharing code, but not much else.  They found social networking sites where they could make “friends”, but that grew old fast; professional networking sites that were meant for sales and business development people to get introduced to others; and job sites to put up a resume.  Nothing that served the need of the technology professionals, not in the innovative sense.

why India
techTribe was launched in India. While India has established itself as a force in the technology industry, it has done so mostly on the basis of a smart, educated labor force that fits well in the flattened technology world.  There’s more to India though.  With the brilliant mind, and a strong work ethic, the Indian professional has the desire and the ability to innovate like never before, and techTribe’s goal is to help provide the innovation eco-system.

An innovation eco-system doesn’t require that every professional form and lead companies.  It demands that every professional be part of the innovation cycle, which requires that each professional contribute.  And we can contribute by sharing our experiences.  We contribute by teaming up with others on an innovative topic. By mentoring someone.  By helping someone with our knowledge.

techTribe is a community of innovators.  It’s the place where Innovators connect, and go on to achieve bigger things in life. 

The Revolving Door in Indian IT/BPO

I’m on my way back to the US, and on a long flight.  These long flights have become a way of life over the last 6 months, and I’m either fly to India or from India every weekend.  As friends put it – WOW – what are you going to do with all those frequent flier miles?  Well, that’s the irony in life – the last thing I want to do is use the miles to go somewhere ☺.

Anyway, speaking of challenges with gifts we’ve received in life, I am reading an article on Business Today, the October 8th issue called the “Revolving Door”, which speaks to how the single biggest problem facing the Software and Services industry in India is inadequate and fickle manpower.  Having spent time working with the major outsourcers, I can see how the employee attrition problem is the largest challenge faced by them.  I can imagine the pain associated with finding talent in a market where the there’s strong demand and a lack of supply, especially when the employer spends 3-6 months training an employee, only to lose them within 6-12 months.

According to the article, attrition rates at BPO’s are close to 70%, and in my past experience with IT outsourcers, they hover around 43%.  That’s the equivalent of more than half the workforce leaving every year.  CEO’s at these companies routinely say that their biggest challenge isn’t getting business or managing customers, it’s retaining employees.  According to NASSCOM, India requires around 2.3 million people in IT over the next 3 years or so, and these attrition rates can cripple the industry.  Employee retention is one of the reason major players have shut down their operations in India.

The scarier part, is the article clearly states how there doesn’t seem to be a solution in sight.  Executives at the BPO and ITO companies complain about how in spite of being given a great opportunity, it baffles them that employees leave in a few months.  Well, in my humble opinion, this shouldn’t be a huge surprise.  There are parallels to what the Indian IT/BPO industry is going through, and as I’ve written before, some parallels are in the US Automotive industry.  The Indian IT/BPO industry has created an “Assembly Line” of technology enabled processes, which, combined with cheaper labor costs, has resulted in reduced costs of operations, leading to the major shift of the work to India.  In Detroit, when automakers first introduced the assembly line, they had cheaper labor, and they trained the labor force in the basic skills to work at the plants in assembly lines.  The employees were happy with the pay scales, and the expectations were in check.

We’ve created the same assembly line in India, but there are 2 MAJOR DIFFERENCES.  One, the average worker in the Indian industry is NOT a BLUE COLLAR WORKER, working away at the plants.  Second, the aspirations of the Detroit autoworker didn’t include BUILDING THE NEXT MAJOR CAR COMPANY IN 18-24 MONTHS (fueled by 4 companies that had done it in the United States). 

In my opinion, these are the 2 issues that need to be tackled, if we are to find a solution long term.  Short term plug-gap measures abound – incentives to stay, free food at cafeterias, access to malls, buses to commute, fancy buildings, ….the list goes on.  Yet, none of these seem to help much.  It’s IRONIC to me, that while the entire industry seems to complain about the government's lack of planning for long term infrastructure, when it comes to their own long plans, the focus continues to be on short term profits.

I realize I may be raising a controversial issue, but for those that wish to indulge with me for a few minutes, please read on.

1. The Indian IT/BPO employee is usually one who is bright, educated, and creative.  They’re attracted to the financial incentive offered by the industry, but soon are disheartened by the repetitive nature of the work, as well as the lack of creativity.  There’s an entrepreneur in every one of the workers, which is being squashed by the same old work, every single day.  It doesn’t matter if they’re answering phones for a credit card company, or setting up servers for them, it’s the same old work – every single day.  There’s a mismatch between what one believes themselves to be capable of, and what they’re doing on a daily basis.  It’s like asking your Mom to cook the same meal every single day – how long would that last before she quit???
2. Everywhere around us, we read about YouTube being built in 18 months by 3 young entrepreneurs for $1.65 Billion, or a mySpace being worth billions of dollars.  The expectations of the Indian IT/BPO worker is to make it BIG, and make it quick.  There’s no education on what it takes to build companies, not much career management on how their current work gets them on a path to build something some day, and no insight into what really goes on to build these successful companies, not to mention the 10,000 others that fail to get us the one Google or  YouTube. 
3. The Indian IT/BPO employee has no channel that I know of, to express their creative side.  They’re expected to do their daily work, but discouraged to venture into anything creative, some for security reasons, mostly for corporate paranoia.  Companies block access to chat, message boards, and other forms of collaboration with peers – which is a requirement for the employee to tap into their creative energies.  They’re not encouraged to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions of any kind, and before people jump and claim otherwise, let me clarify that I mean encouragement in tangible form, not just words. 

Anyway, I’ve already written quite a bit today, so I’ll stop for now and pick up again in a couple of days.  I’ll leave with the simple thought that if we’re to solve the employee retention issue facing the Indian industry, the industry needs to come up with a long term solution that encourages people to spend time exploring their creative side (albeit at the supposed cost of some productivity/profits), and invest in entrepreneurship centric education in a very informal way (maybe mentorships etc.).

I’d love to hear from people…send me your thoughts.

Forming a Company in India

It feels good to express myself every other day…. Similar to working out, it keeps me agile, and we all know how important that is for health and innovation.  As a quick business update, we’re about to release the next version of techTribe next week, and I’m pleased to say the least.  One of the beauties of Web 2.0 is the ability to release new features and capabilities on a monthly basis.  Unlike enterprise software, we can listen to user feedback, and respond in a matter of weeks.

You’ll have to wait for a few days to check out what’s new with techTribe – India’s Innovation Platform (http://www.techtribe.com), but it’s a mix of what we heard from the customers, and some new things we’re looking for feedback on.

Anyway, I’m on a flight back to India to put some final papers together on our Indian company – techTribeNetworks India Private Limited.  I was on a flight the other direction last week, reading an article in India Today about statistics comparing India to the US.  One of the statistics had to do with how long it took to form a company in India vs. the United States.  I didn’t believe the difference, especially since I had heard one of India’s economic ministers on TV speak about how quick and painless it was.  The article said it took 71 days and 11 procedures are required to start a business in India, compared to 5 days and 5 processes in the US.  Having been through it in the US, I had personal experience that confirmed it. 

techTribe retained a premier firm to help with the formation of our Indian firm, and even with some of the best minds at work, we couldn’t get the company formed within 45 – 60 days.  We had to wait for a few weeks for the “Name Search” to clear (do I smell the birth of a new kind of search engine ☺), a few to file the papers since the memorandum of articles of incorporation documents have to be prepared “in print”, etc.  In today’s digital age, I must say I was surprised.  AND, to top it all, we couldn’t open a Bank Account until we have the company all done, so we couldn’t transact at all.  We worked around it by signing out personal checks that were re-imbursed, but try putting on a press launch or two with a campaign to follow without a bank account, and it gets tricky.  I don’t vent, so this is just for information for others looking to do the same.  I guess it’s easier for a woman to get 15,000 bank accounts with a bank under fake names in 3 days or so, but a legitimate firm can’t get an account opened ☺.

Other statistics I found interesting, and which demonstrates the opportunity in India.
➢    17,189 colleges & universities in India vs. 4182 in US
➢    100m mobile phone users in India in 2006, compared to 194.5m in the US in 2005
➢    93,000 elementary schools with computers in India vs. 110,000 in US
➢    350,000 Engineers produced annually and 800,000 Complete MBAs vs. 200,000 in US, plus 200,000 Science degrees are awarded every year in India
➢    9.9m Students enrolled in various colleges across the country

Anyway, now that we have all that corporate and financial stuff squared away, we’re excited about growing our team in India.  We’re trying something different in the industry again – leveraging Indians for their marketing skills instead of sheer labor force.  And I must say, I am very pleased with the level of professional talent in India.  We’ve managed to recruit some bright individuals, and have also come across some amazing people.  I just read a blog by Amit Agarwal, who resides in Agra, which is just perfect for what the Indian market needs.  It’s so great to see Indians innovating to serve the Indian market.  (His blog is Digital Inspiration at http://labnol.blogspot.com ).

The flight is about to land so I need to shut down.  More in a couple of days.

10 Businesses VCs are Dying to Fund

So we launched techTribe on September 14th in Delhi, and the response has been fabulous.  Some of the news is posted on the website, and more will follow.  We also launched a campaign called connect2Develop to reward innovation.

The few weeks leading up to the launch, and the few after were incredibly busy as one would imagine.  I haven’t been blogging much over the last several weeks, and that needs to change.  So I’m hoping to get back into it now.  There – that’s off my chest now – there should never be a place for much guilt in our lives.

Anyway, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the air lately, and I read a great article a week ago called “10 Businesses VCs are Dying to Fund”.  It was in Business Today, an indian business weekly.  The article talks about the record venture capital pouring into India, and which sectors this money was chasing.

Per the article, the sectors are IT enabled services, InfoTech, Mobile, Internet, Media and Entertainment, Education, Hospitality, Healthcare, Microfinance/Financial Services, and Clean Energy.  While the article did an awesome job of showcasing examples of innovation that VCs are looking for in these sectors, the 10 sectors weren’t a surprise.  I mean – what did we leave out – Agriculture and Manufacturing?  I am being a little sarcastic I know ☺.

It’s interesting how we’re seeing a flurry of venture capital announcements about funds being formed, and the lack of real investments - early and seed stage investments in the technology sector.  I guess some of it is to be expected.  The eco-system of technology innovation in India is just getting started, and if we looked at where Silicon Valley was 10 years from the formation of Apple or HP, there wasn’t much early stage activity either.  But the times are different, and the VCs are willing to take much bigger risks.  I’m confident that we’ll see quite a few new startups in India, because the capital is available now, there’s always been bright entrepreneurs, and there seems to be mentorship that is beginning to take shape with the movement of Indians back from the West.

Back to Innovation in technology, looking at the Internet sector, India has 50 million or so Internet users today, and the number is growing.  Consumer services, based on the open platform of the Internet is ripe for the making, and the article also points out that VCs believe that are several successful businesses in the West that aren’t yet present in India.  It’s reasonable to expect there’s a market for them.  BUT, there are cultural differences which may make it very different for these companies to succeed in the Indian market. 

I can’t help but think about ORIGINALITY.  Are we to expect that most new internet ventures in India will be based on the American successes or extensions of them?  Will this be similar to the Bollywood theme where most mainstream movies are based on a storyline “inspired by a Hollywood script”.  They have a shot at being moderate successes.  OR, Is it likely that we see some originals that will be runaway hits, and those will take into account the state of the affairs in India – like “Lage Raho Munnabhai” and “Rang De Basanti”.  I think we all know what the answer needs to be, and what’s possible if one were to focus on the needs of the Indian market. 

We have a couple of million technology professionals in India.  We have a real estate market, a hospitality market, a financial services market, a media and entertainment market – you get the idea.  8 out of the 10 sectors mentioned in the article open up IMMENSE POSSIBILITIES for the use of technology that needs to be SOMEWHAT UNIQUE to the Indian market.  Imagine the possibilities if we tried to innovate for the need of the Indian community, rather than only thinking of exports ☺.

I’ll end on that thought for today.  I’m on a long flight tomorrow, so I’ll try and write some more then.

Find out more about connect2Develop at http://www.techtribe.com

Our Identity – Integrating Our Many Selves

So I haven’t had a chance to journal on this site for a few weeks.  Work got the better of me over the last few weeks, and it seems like almost everything but the professional side of my life got suppressed.

I just read an article that spoke about how our identity is made up of the sum total of our many traits and values and our character. Each of us possesses within us many different selves. There is the adult part of ourselves and the childlike spirit that resides in each one of us. There is our masculine side and our feminine side. There is the hard worker in us, the artist, the parent, and the caretaker. All of these selves combined form a well-rounded, complex person. Not all of these different aspects of who we are blend easily with each other, however, and some of them may even conflict with or oppose one another. When a person's different parts clash, such as the self that is our childlike aspect and the self that is our responsible adult, we often end up compartmentalizing or suppressing one of these aspects to ease the conflict. While this may make us feel better in the short run, we would be better off finding a way for these two selves to coexist peacefully inside us. Though some of our selves may be dominant while others rarely assert themselves, attempts to suppress one or more of these different aspects can leave us feeling that our identity has been splintered.

I couldn’t agree more with what I read.  I’ve written in the past about my fascination with the human identity, and how the various facets or colors of our identity truly define who we are.  What started off as a fascination and a social interest has turned into a new venture, one that we’re immensely passionate about. 

I must admit I still struggle a little with integrating the various parts to a point where I feel completely comfortable.  While I don’t see myself suppressing any color of my identity, there are times when I pay more attention to one of the colors, resulting in a sense of longing for the other colors.  Lately, as I said, I’ve been focusing on my professional life more than anything else, and while I know deep down I haven’t lost my childlike ability to laugh at myself and at life, I haven’t done so in a while. 

At a lunch with a friend recently, he told me about how he has a practice of “scheduling his priorities”, different from prioritizing his schedule.  In his life, he looked at the various roles he played in his life, synonymous with the colors of his identity, and made sure that he scheduled time for each of the roles, so not one role took priority over the other, causing the sense of longing I mention.  I liked the idea, and completely agreed with it, but in practice, I haven’t done that over the last few weeks.

Don’t get me wrong.  While I realize that I haven’t spent time on certain aspects of my life, I’m very pleased with the areas I have focused on, and the results.  In the last month, TECHTRIBE has grown to twice it’s size, we’ve moved to our new offices in downtown San Francisco, received validation we couldn’t have dreamed possible at this stage, and the energy level and commitment from the team has been unparalleled.  And we’ve managed to achieve our goals without sacrificing or suppressing any other aspects of our individual and tribal identities.  We haven’t needed to resolve a conflict between the various colors of our identities.  And we continue to have fun.

I’m realizing that being able to successfully integrate our various selves can be as simple as accepting and embracing each one. It may also be necessary to reframe the way we see them. The immature self that we ridicule can become a valued and accepted part of us when redefined as our more playful aspect.

When our many selves blend together to form an integrated individual, we feel changed. We no longer feel pulled in multiple directions, and don’t feel like we have to deny any part of ourselves. We become a complete person - familiar and comfortable with the many selves that make up the person we are. 

And being comfortable with myself, for me personally, is a great feeling - one that I hope never to lose.

Bless the Broken Road

Someone from my past recently pointed me towards a song, a country song?, which I could completely relate to.  The song went…

“I set out on a narrow way, many years ago
Hoping I would find true love, along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
wipe my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign, pointed straight to you”

I’ve never been into country music, and the very thought of being able to relate my life to a country song is scary to say the least, but I couldn’t but help think about signs in our lives that keep us on our path.

In one of my recent posts, I had written about Personal Legends.  And the fact that if I want something in life, the entire universe conspires in helping me achieve it.  I believe now that the universe often relays messages to us through signs.  I used to be so busy that I wasn’t able to stop and consider what may or may not be a sign.  I’ve realized since that it is necessary to pay attention to the little details in life, and open my heart and mind to the universe and invite the guidance into my life.

Along the journey of life so far, I’ve come across several people, who have played a role in shaping my life to where it is today.  As the song suggests, they’ve been like northern stars, pointing me towards my path.  As I think of all these people in my life that I’ve had a personal, professional, or tangential relationship with, i realize that each and every one of them has helped me become who I am, get to where I am, and for that I’m forever grateful.

Some of these relationships resulted in many happy times, while some caused a lot of pain.  In some, I grew a lot, in others I caused a lot of pain.  Looking back at each of these relationships, thinking of the fond and painful memories, there isn’t one that I can’t attribute some part of my successes and my learning to. 

Each experience in a personal relationship has revealed more about my own self.  Things I liked in others were things I aspired for, things I disliked were a reflection of my own shortcomings.  Each professional relationship has helped me mature as an individual, not only acquiring skills that I leverage today, but recognizing the challenges I face in certain areas of my life.

I can honestly say that were it not for the people in my life, past and present, I wouldn’t be as happy today, nor would my life be so full. 

The person who was the catalyst behind me leaving grad school to pursue a career in software, and the person I met at that company, who had faith in me to trust me with huge responsibilities at a later date setting in motion the upswings, believing in me when I probably wouldn’t.  The failure I experienced at one startup, teaching me more about corporate finance than I would’ve learnt.  Each one of these situations has truly been a guiding star, leading to today, where I am living my dream.

In my personal life, there have been individuals who have loved me unconditionally, a few that broke my trust when I was a young adult, some that were with me during my most amazing life experiences, some that I held resentments towards, and some that I was hurtful to.  If I truly look back, each of these experiences were directly responsible in shaping my “Identity” today. 

I’ve since forgiven the people who broke my trust, and am willing to ask for forgiveness where I was at fault.  Because, as the song goes,

“Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you”

Had it not been for these individuals along the broken road, I would not get to where I am today.  Today, I know how to be a friend among friends, a worker among workers,  and simply a member of a family.  I’m learning how to live a tribal life, and for that I am grateful to a lot of people.  They’re in part responsible for the peace, serenity, and happiness that I experience – today!

What’s my Personal Legend?

I just finished reading a great book about our dreams in life.  A part that stuck out for me was the concept of a “Personal Legend” – which, according to the author, is what we've always wanted to accomplish in life.

As most things do, the idea of a personal legend got me thinking.  When I was younger, I think I knew what my personal legend was.  As I’ve grown, I’m sure I’ve gone through times when I’d answer that question very differently.  I’ve always had dreams… but to me, part of maturity was realizing that dreams were just that, and what I thought was a personal legend was unattainable and impossible.

Now, if I was to answer the question today, could I?  What is my Personal Legend?

The easiest to answer is the question as it relates to my professional life.  Two months into techTRIBE, I would like nothing more than to achieve the goals we set out for.  They are definitely achievable.

Outside of the professional life, I’d like accomplishments related to family, friends, possessions, experiences, learning, and passions.   I am sure I’ve missed a few areas, but you get the idea.  I’ve always thought that I should have a family that shows me the way of life, and where I can find unconditional love.  I’ve always wanted friends who I could count on for support and silliness.  Possessions is a little more interesting since I’ve wanted so much in life.  I could go on for a bit.

A funny thing happened as I was writing this.  Being a little bit of a perfectionist, I jotted down on a sheet of paper, examples of what I’d want in my list of personal legends.  As I wrote them down, I realized something, which opened my eyes a little.

I HAVE a family that has been a guiding light.  They’ve done the very best they could to guide me through life, while allowing me to develop my own identity.

I HAVE friends who are fun, caring, annoying, and sassy – all within an hour at times.  These are people who are there with me, along the roads of everyday life.

I HAVE no such desire for new possessions, and am mostly content with what I have.  A friend asked me what I wanted recently, and I didn’t have a clue of anything that I needed.

I HAVE had wonderful, life changing experiences.  And they will always be there with me, with more to come.  Each experience has had their moments of joy, pain, ecstasy and tears, but each has been unique and forever memorable.

I’ve learnt a few things in life.  Some though teachings, some though other people’s experiences, and some through my own.    There’s a student in me that is forever in thirst for new learning, and at times, the results may not be good but I always learn.

I HAVE been able to live out many passions in life.  Be it a passion for certain people, travels, or life changing experiences, I’ve been fortunate.  I just had an opportunity to begin work on one of my passions to work with underprivileged kids.  A friend allowed me to volunteer at a career fair of sorts in the peninsula, which allowed me to work a little with 15-16 year olds.  It’s a dream I’ve had for a while – investing in “Intellectual Capital” for a living.

You get the idea.  It sure looks like I’m living my personal legend.  Or is it various personal legends?  Either way, if I step back a little, it sure looks like life TODAY is either presenting me with the life as I wanted in a legend, or the opportunity to take a step towards it.  One thing is clear to me… I HAVE BEEN LIVING MY PERSONAL LEGEND SO FAR IN MY LIFE, and there’s never a reason nor a desire to ever change anything in the past.

As for the future, I know that if I want something as a personal legend, the entire universe conspires in helping me achieve it.  I do have to work for it, and also be open to receiving help from the universe.